Over the summer I attended a talk about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness. It was given by Dr. Mario Stoute of Dirección de Protección Civil (Cancun’s office of Civilian Protection).

Dr. Stoute brought up many, many interesting points. But I was especially impressed by a list he gave of the natural and man-made advantages that Cancun and the Riviera Maya have in case of a hurricane:

• Limestone – The Yucatan peninsula is primarily limestone and limestone is a natural sponge. There is always some crevice or hole in the rock for rainwater to seep into. So flooding from rainfall in this area is usually short-lived and not widespread.
• Flat Land – With no mountains and very thin topsoil we have no potential for landslides. Landslides are often killers in mountainous regions that face hurricanes.
• Deep Water Just Offshore – Because we have deep ocean water just to offshore of us here there is little potential for storm surge to travel very far inland. We still get battering waves but ocean water doesn’t come inland.
• Mangrove – In places where we humans have been smart enough to leave mangrove intact it acts as a natural hurricane punching bag. Mangrove can absorb a huge amount of the energy of a hurricane. Dr. Stoute stressed that it is unwise to ever build higher than the level of the mangrove here.
• Flat Land Again – The lack of mountains here means that we don’t suffer from the rise in water levels that can come about during a hurricane due to the “funnel effect.”
• Concrete Buildings – Concrete homes and buildings are the norm here. We don’t have stick homes that can blow apart in hurricanes and we don’t have roofs that can blow off.

These are some of the reasons why this area suffers very few casualties because of hurricanes. I never thought I would be thankful for a lack of mountains and a lack of topsoil, but I am now.

Posted by RiverGirl in Cancun

While predictions still seem to indicate that Cancun and the surrounding areas are not in imminent danger from Tropical Storm Gustav, the government has maintained its green alert for the state of Quintana Roo.  A green alert signifies a low level of danger, but encourages people to start taking precautions and to continue to monitor the progress of this storm.  Computer models show Gustav staying closer to Cuba than to Mexico, but as stated in previous posts, anythingn can happen with a storm like this, it’s very hard to predict which path he will take.

The Atlantic is becoming a busy place for storm action, Gustav has been joined by Tropical Storm Hanna and a concentration of thunder storms over the Bay of Campeche on the eastern coast of Mexico.  At the moment, once again, it seems that Cancun and the Riviera Maya are still outside of the danger zone.

Gustav is set to possibly regain its hurricane status, bringing heavy rains and wind to Jamaica today, before moving towards Cuba.  Computer models seem to indicate a west or northwest movement, perhaps protecting much of Cuba from the brunt of the storm, mostly affecting the western side of the island and possibly taking the storm through the narrow channel between Cuba and Mexico before it heads into the warm Gulf of Mexico waters.

The states on the Gulf Coast of the United States are in preparation for Gustav. Though it is still too early to really know where he might make landfall, it appears that Louisiana or Alabama could be in danger of a good hit from a strengthened Gustav.

In sad news, the death toll from Gustav’s run over Haiti and the Dominican Republic has risen to 51, in addition, seven people are still considered missing and 22 people were injured.

posted by CancunCanuck

in Cancun